


The Downside of Fame

by zestycheck (breathingfire)



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Post-Canon, sazed is discussed a lot but not in detail, see first AN for more detail on that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-14
Updated: 2017-10-14
Packaged: 2019-01-17 01:09:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12354294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/breathingfire/pseuds/zestycheck
Summary: Taako should have seen this coming. People were getting more and more interested in his life and history as his brand spread, and he should’ve known Glamour Springs would be brought up at some point. As it was, though, it was a shock when he heard his name after so long; his stomach tied itself in knots.Taako deals with some uncomfortable questions. Kravitz steps in. The general public are assholes, as usual.





	The Downside of Fame

**Author's Note:**

> So. Sazed is talked about a lot, but not in detail. I didn't want to be like "these are the ways he hurt me in great detail" bc thats not the story I wanted to write. so you can assume taako has told kravitz about sazed before, but what he did specifically is up to you. a strictly canon interpretation works as well as most fanon interpretations.
> 
> anywho. this is based off a couple requests from a prompt meme on tumblr. thanks to everyone who requests anything, love yall

Taako should have seen this coming. People were getting more and more interested in his life and history as his brand spread, and he should’ve known Glamour Springs would be brought up at some point. As it was, though, it was a shock when he heard  _ his _ name after so long; his stomach tied itself in knots.

“Is it true Sazed poisoned the entire town of Glamour Springs and tried to pin it on you?”

Taako tittered nervously. “Well, forty people, give or take, so, uh, not the  _ entire _ town, per se, but…”

“And he tried to blame it on you?”

The faces in front of him began to blur together. “Yes, uh, that much is true.”

“What was the nature of your relationship with Sazed?”

“Shitty. Anything else?”

There was a chorus of questions all at once, which compounded his growing stress headache. There were few topics that cut through his cool facade faster than Sazed.

That was when Kravitz, bless his undead heart, decided to step in. “That's enough questions, folks,” he said in full Cockney, stepping between Taako and the crowd. Taako had momentarily forgotten he was there, and had to suppress giggles at the return of the terrible accents. “Nothing to see here, y'all,” and hearing “y'all" in a  _ Cockney accent _ had Taako almost doubled over in laughter, even as Kravitz was pulling him briskly, but not roughly, away from the crowd.

Taako could hear the murmurings of the crowd even as the two of them walked away. “Who the fuck was  _ that _ guy?” “His boyfriend, I think.” “I heard he's the Grim Reaper though.” “That's bullshit; the Grim Reaper doesn't exist.”

Evidently Kravitz also heard that last comment, as he turned around and went full skeleton-mode, pulling his scythe out of the ether as menacingly as he could, surrounding himself with ghostly fire. About half the crowd was still following them as they made their way down the street, and they all shrank back at the display. “I  _ said _ we're done here.” Taako was busy valiantly suppressing laughter as Kravitz added, “And  _ don't  _ practice any necromancy, because… I will  _ know _ .” He must have let a snort sneak out because Kravitz rolled his eyes at him as he grabbed Taako's hand and led him down the nearest crossroads.

Once they were a few feet down the road and Taako had mostly caught his breath, he grinned. “Did Lup teach you that? The thing with the fire?”

Kravitz turned and glared at him without any real malice, skin halfway to stitching itself across his face. “Lup isn't the only one who knows shit about fire, you know.” Much more quietly, he added, “But yes.”

Taako just snorted, and Kravitz glanced back over his shoulder, face fully formed. “If they don't stop following us in two blocks, I'm going to open a rift back to our apartment.”

Taako's chest warmed at the phrase “our apartment”. They had been living together in Neverwinter for a few years now, but the idea still felt novel. He leaned more into Kravitz's side as a smile crept across his face. “You're the best getaway driver, my dude. Also, I can _ not  _ believe you turned my paparazzi situation into an anti-necromancy PSA.”

Kravitz shrugged. “Better to stop it before it starts. But, uh,  _ paparazzi _ ?”

“Oh, I explained my situation with the obsessive people who want to know every facet of my personal life to Joaquin, and that's what he called them. I mean, I get it, I'm  _ Taako _ , but… eh. Also the word is just fun to say. Pa-pa-ra-zzi,” Taako said, with exaggerated mouth movements.

Kravitz's eyebrows knit in confusion. “I'm sorry, who's Joaquin?”

“Oh he's a cool kid, lives in the Plane of Thought, showed me how to make tacos. I should introduce you sometime.”

Kravitz looked even more lost. “Wait, hold on, how do you know someone from the  _ Plane of Thought?” _

“Because I'm  _ Taako _ , I've got  _ connections _ ,” he said, gesturing dramatically to himself. When Kravitz still looked unimpressed, he continued, “Hey, you're from the Astral Plane, aren't you? People love me from all across the planar system, and that's a fact.”

“But  _ how. _ ”

Taako sighed and rolled his eyes. “You can't just live with the mystery? Alright, fine. We talk through an emerald mirror stolen from Lucas Miller, and during the apocalypse he showed me how to make a taco, and when we ate them we both got an extremely powerful surge of magic, which, hoo, was a lot for me, but  _ extremely _ a lot for him because he normally doesn't have magic, yanno? His entire plane doesn't have access to magic, which is fuckin’ wild to me, but whatever. And, yanno, through the power of love and tacos I was able to yank ya outta the Astral Plane.” Taako shrugged. “It was quite a day.”

Kravitz stared at him in disbelief. “ _ Seriously? _ ”

Taako grinned at his reaction. “What can I say? Truth is stranger than fiction, my dude.”

Kravitz huffed a laugh, then glanced behind them. “ _ My Queen take them _ ,” he hissed, and before Taako could also check over his shoulder, Kravitz was tugging him into the nearest alley. 

“They're still behind us?” Taako asked. Kravitz just nodded stiffly as he sliced open a rift, and pulled Taako through as soon as it was fully formed. It was only after the rift closed up behind them and they were safely in their living room that Taako let out the breath he didn't realize he was holding.

“I'm sorry,” Kravitz said as he smoothed back his hair. “I just really wanted to get out of there.”

“I don't blame you, bubbele,” Taako replied as he flopped onto the couch. “I wasn't exactly super pumped to stay there, either.”

Kravitz sat next to him, and Taako immediately leaned up against him. “I'm not super great with crowds,” Kravitz said, “never was, and especially not with  _ that _ kind of crowd. They definitely went too far.”

Taako shrugged, at least as much as he could while pressed up against Kravitz. “They wanted as much as they could of yours truly, and I can't exactly blame them.”

“Taako,” Kravitz said, turning as much as he could to face his boyfriend without jostling him, “they were asking things you were uncomfortable with. You don't have to put up with that.”

“Pfft, uncomfortable? Who said I was uncomfortable? Taako was  _ born _ for fame, my dude.”

Kravitz just looked at him with concern. “I saw how you reacted when they brought up Sazed.”

Taako flinched. His voice was strained when he asked, “It was that noticeable?”

“No, love, I just know you too well.” Kravitz's voice was soft. “You hide it, and you do it well; most people see only what you want them to. But I can see how hurt you are.”

A flutter of fight-or-flight rose in Taako's chest, but he fought it back. Kravitz has never hurt him, not after the day they met, and he has to remind himself of that sometimes. 

“It's dumb,” Taako said, sniffing.

“Not dumb,” Kravitz replied, interlacing their fingers pinned between them. He learned early on that Taako prefers to not make eye contact during these types of conversations, so he keeps his eyes trained on the wall in front of them. “Your feelings aren't dumb.” 

“I mean, he's in  _ jail, _ he can't hurt me anymore, but -” He became too choked up to continue, so he just buried his face against Kravitz's chest. Kravitz shifted to face him, to better hold him. They stayed like that for a few minutes, until Taako turned his face aside for air.

“He's in my dreams, sometimes,” Taako continued, just above a whisper. “And sometimes I'm worried he's following me, that he's just out of sight. That one day I'll wake up and he'll still be there. Like this is all one huge dream that's bound to end.” He huffed a laugh humorlessly. “I told you it was stupid.”

“'S not stupid,” Kravitz replied, half into Taako's hair. “What he did to you was extremely traumatizing.”

There were a few seconds of silence, broken only by Taako's weak sniffling, before Kravitz continued. “I want you to know, I'll keep you safe. No matter what.”

Taako snorted weakly. “Gonna call bullshit on that one, bubbele. You’re literally Death.”

“And I’ll do my damnedest to make sure you die from old age and not anything else.” Kravitz started rubbing soothing circles into his back. “I want you to stay alive as much as you do, love.”

Taako sniffed and wiped at his eyes. “I suppose that’s the best way to talk about my own death,” he said with a chuckle.

“Honestly, Taako, I know you're perfectly capable of protecting yourself, but if you're in any danger you need help with, call me, okay? I'll drop whatever I'm doing to help you, I promise.” Kravitz was looking at him with such intensity in his eyes.

“You sure?” 

“Of course. You're the best thing in my entire existence.”

“...Okay.”

“Promise me you'll call?”

“...I promise.”

Taako lets out a breath and drops his glamour, and feels a weight lifted from his shoulders.

“Hey,” Kravitz whispered, gently tilting up Taako's chin to look him in the eyes. “You're still gorgeous.” And he kisses him, softly.

**Author's Note:**

> i love love imagining taako and joaquin keeping in touch tbh
> 
> feel free to follow my taz tumblr [@zestycheck](https://zestycheck.tumblr.com). I take fic requests + prompts.


End file.
